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Read one verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with its Sanskrit, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Canto 4 · The Creation of the Fourth Order · 31 chapters

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Chant the verse. Say the Sanskrit slowly and carefully.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each Sanskrit word and its meaning.
  3. 3Find the meaning yourself. Before the translation, piece the meaning together from the words.
  4. 4Read the translation. Ask: what is the Lord teaching here, and how does it apply to my life?
  5. 5Read the purport slowly. Read it two or three times. Don't rush.
  6. 6Write down what touched you. Note the main points in your own notebook.
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Canto 4 · Chapter 22: Pṛthu Mahārāja’s Meeting with the Four Kumāras
4.22.444.22.46

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam · Text 4.22.45

Manvantara· The Manus and right duty
Who is speaking and story frame
Speaking:The Kingsince 4.22.44inside 3 frames: Sūta Gosvāmī → the sages at NaimiṣāraṇyaŚukadeva Gosvāmī → King ParīkṣitMaitreya Ṛṣi → Vidura

सैनापत्यं च राज्यं च दण्डनेतृत्वमेव च ।

सर्व लोकाधिपत्यं च वेदशास्त्रविदर्हति ॥ ४५ ॥

sainā-patyaṁ ca rājyaṁ ca

daṇḍa-netṛtvam eva ca

sarva lokādhipatyaṁ ca

veda-śāstra-vid arhati

Translation

Since only a person who is completely educated according to the principles of Vedic knowledge deserves to be commander-in-chief, ruler of the state, the first to chastise or the proprietor of the whole planet, Pṛthu Mahārāja offered everything to the Kumāras.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Leadership Means Serving the Supreme Proprietor

  1. 1

    Those who govern should know the Vedic teachings and take direction from saintly persons and brāhmaṇas. Pṛthu Mahārāja understood that he should rule as their servant.

  2. 2

    Everything belongs to Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and proprietor of all planetary systems. A ruler should remember that he is a servant, not the owner, and govern to satisfy the Lord.

  3. 3

    Vedic instructions require arrangements so that no one starves. The Lord supplies life’s necessities, but mismanagement can prevent people from receiving them.

Key points from the purport
  • In this verse it is very clearly stated that a kingdom, state or empire must be governed under the instructions of saintly persons and brāhmaṇas like the Kumāras.
  • According to Vedic communism, no one in the state should ever starve.
  • Pṛthu Mahārāja therefore knew very well that it behooved him to rule the planet as the servant of saintly persons and brāhmaṇas.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Anger and disorder → Duty and devotion. Kingship shifts from domination to stewardship and renunciation.

Chapters 13–23 of Canto 4: Vena and Pṛthu: power, the Earth and stewardship. An editorial reading of the story's mood, not the text itself. See the emotional arc

Further reading

Chapter 22: Pṛthu Mahārāja’s Meeting with the Four Kumāras

The four Kumāras instruct Pṛthu, who dedicates himself and the fruits of his activities to the Lord.

Back to this verse in chapter 4.22
2

Word for word

Learn the Sanskrit words of the verse.

  1. sainā-patyampost of commander-in-chief
  2. caand
  3. rājyampost of ruler over the kingdom
  4. caand
  5. daṇḍaruling
  6. netṛtvamleadership
  7. evacertainly
  8. caand
3

Key ideas in this verse

The subject this verse serves and the themes it speaks of.

  • Manvantara · The change of Manus

    What gives human life its right direction? · Subject 6 of 10

  • Rāja-dharma · Devotional leadership

    Serving and protecting through responsibility. · Theme in SB 4.22

    In this verse: “ruler”, “govern”

  • Dharma · Duty and righteous conduct

    Right action as duty, responsibility and devotion. · Theme in SB 4.22

    In this verse: “principles”

  • Jñāna · Spiritual insight

    Inquiry, revelation and discrimination between self and matter. · Theme in SB 4.22

    In this verse: “knowledge”

Chapter themes come from the story phase this chapter belongs to.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

In a responsibility I hold, am I thinking like an owner or acting like a servant?

Practice

Help provide a meal for someone today, remembering that the Lord’s resources are meant to sustain everyone.

5

The story around it

The story this chapter belongs to.

6

Connected stories

Keep going: stories told elsewhere in the Bhāgavatam that this verse or its purport brings in.

Found where this verse or Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport names them. See all of chapter 4.22's connections

Live this todayLeadership Means Serving the Supreme ProprietorThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

Ask the BhāgavatamHave a question about SB 4.22.45? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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